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October 16, 2007

ALCS 4: Spiders 7, Red Sox 3

Then Blake banged a solo dong and about an hour later, it seemed, Cleveland had sent 12 men to the plate against Wake and MDC, scoring seven runs on seven hits.

The Red Sox charged right back -- making ALCS history when Youkilis, Ortiz and Ramirez hit back-to-back-to-back home runs. But that was it for the bats. The Red Sox managed only one more base runner in the final three+ innings -- and he was erased within two pitches on a double play.

Off-day Wednesday and then it's Beckett/CC on Thursday.

All we got to do is win three games. ... Last two at home, with Andrew Daisuke bringing the MFing hammer.

Let them stoke their fires and crank their music and point at us and laugh as we were forced to the back of the bus. We sat and watched and observed and absorbed and kept quiet. And when the time was right ...

One game away from elimination? F@#k that noise. We prefer to think of you guys as three games away from elimination.

***

Tim Wakefield / Paul Byrd

Wakefield has not pitched in a game since September 29, although he did toss a 77-pitch simulated game last Tuesday.

We haven't had our backs against the wall all year, until now, because during all that panic stuff about the division at the end of the [regular season], we were never in danger of missing the playoffs. We're down, 2-1. I think this is our first true character test, given our lead all year.

Zero. ... This is a do-or-die situation. I've got to put whatever behind me. If I keep thinking about my knee, my knee, my knee, it's only going to make it worse. We don't have that much room that we can be thinking about it. ... Unless I can't get out of my bed, I've got to keep on playing.

In addition to a strong start from Wakefield, the bats need to show up. Half the lineup is still in a trance: Varitek and Pedroia are both 4-for 25 in the post-season and Drew is 5-for-22. Against Cleveland, Julio Lugo is 2-for-11 and Crisp 3-for 12.

Damn, wasn't it just a few days ago this team looked like it was set to steamroll through the playoffs? Varitek will sit tonight in favour of Doug Mirabelli, who hasn't had an at-bat since September 30 and only 10 ABs since August 17.

So we need bats and six good innings from Timmeh, then we have Beckett and Schilling kicking off a best 2-of-3 with the last two games at home. I like the sound of that, so ...

Because it's not a mistake. Panicking and pitching Beckett on short rest is a very bad idea. It could create a domino effect and mess up the whole rotation. Plus who knows how Beckett would do? Why mess with the ace? We'll survive Byrd/Wake.

Being down 1-2 is not the end of the pennant. We'll right the ship tonight and go from there.

RSYesterday the Cleveland closer was getting off the mound after every pitch and and licking his fingers and palm.I have seen pitchers do that after every at bat , but not after every pitch.I think he got his pitches to move tail a lot more than normal.What is the general rule on this.?

because beckett has pitched well on 3 days rest before. wake didn't have a good september. he hasn't even pitched in the playoffs and tonight is a critical game. it's not that i have no faith in wake at all. cleveland is a fastball hitting team, but it worries me that he hasn't pitched lately and he has a bad back.

I agree with letting Wake pitch. First, I have confidence in him. Perhaps misplaced, but then everyone was moaning about Timlin and calling him White Flag, and yet look at how well he has pitched in this post-season. FWIW, I sort of trust these old guys, maybe because they are all still younger than I am!

Also, their 2004 experience of coming back in the ALCS warms my heart and I assume gives them some confidence. I realize that Wake is now 3 years older and maybe not as sharp as he was in 2004, but when his stuff is good, he can still be unhittable.

The only downside I see is having DiceK pitch game 7, given how badly he seems to feel about last night's game. I didn't think he was terrible last night---he had some good at bats, even good innings. But he sure seemed down on himself from what I have read. I don't want him feeling that way and going into a do or die game 7.

Not sure why everyone is getting antsy...68% of people that voted in the poll expected this thing to go 6 or 7, and thats where it stands now. Almost all the sports writers expected a long series and that's what we're in store for.

We're down 2-1 - Last time I checked, this wasn't a best of three - so turn those frowns upside down, grab a bottle of your favorite wine and cozy up for tonight's offensive barrage!

The only mistake Tito is making here is not sticking LBJ in for OcOc and leading him off (dropping Fuck Yeah to #8), and possibly getting Keilty in there (judging solely on the first comment of this thread)

i don't know about anyone else, but i really don't want a frigging 1-3 deficit. i don't care about 2004 right now. we are a different team. we aren't that come-from-behind team anymore lately. the tide has turned. i haven't fancied us as underdogs this entire season and i think many feel the same way.i understand the valour in trusting a manager who has done so well (it's really an organizational call having wake go tonight) but i don't think there is anything wrong in questioning it and going against the grain. wake had an 8.76 in september. he hasn't won a game since august 25th. the bats were not there last night and will they be any better against a guy who has been really good against us? how does it usually go when wake doesn't get run support?

meh. i know there is every possibility of him coming out of nowhere and throwing a gem (or at least a strong 6/7 inning outing) but i just think the chances of that are slim.

but whatever. ain't nothin can be done cause wake is going no matter what the entire sports world has to say about it. so bring it on, w/e ;p

i dont sit drew. i sit coco. his ABs look the worst. scared, almost. not that JDs look that much better, but i think its time for a little LBJ.

i understand the "dont lose the faith, look at 2004" stuff....but this is a different team. not sayign its a bad thing, its just a fact. the past doesnt mattter now. TONIGHT, in the year 2007 matters.we need wake to knuckle the indians down.get some runs.

You could have Beckett pitch on short rest tonight, then go with Wakefield in Game 5 (just flip-flop them). That would still give G38 his rest, but then you are still relying on Wakefield (against CC). And would Tito be "wasting" Beckett against Byrd? That scenario would mean Beckett could pitch a Game 7 on short rest, but two short rest starts may not be the right thing to do.

And as has been pointed out, if we skip Wake altogether, the move upsets the schedule of every one of the other three starters, which the team clearly will not do.

This is not quite the Schrouek/Pedro debate of 1999, since those two games were truly must-wins, but it's sort of close. We "need" to win both games, so the club should everyone on schedule and have faith.

"Daisuke Matsuzaka sat in front of his locker Monday night for a solid hour. He did not move, other than to shake his head, or put his hands behind it as he slumped in his chair. ...

Matsuzaka was so disconsolate afterward, he declined his customary press conference, even as a roomful of American and Japanese reporters politely waited for him nearby. Finally, he issued a statement to translator Masa Hoshino, who read it while Matsuzaka remained in the same pose in front of his locker.

"As you saw, I allowed them to score first and I wasn't able to hang on after giving up the lead. I wanted to do everything I could today to win and hand it over to Wakefield in a good way."

October 16, 2007 -- If Bronx Bomber Derek Jeter wants to keep his sex life a secret, he should learn to tie up any post-tryst loose ends.

Our spy in the lobby of the Shore Club in Miami early Sunday morning spotted "two scantily clad women screaming at the front desk because they had spent the night at Jeter's penthouse and were then charged for parking."

"The girls were wearing what looked like the same clothes they wore the night before - a tight cocktail dress and a mini-skirt. They were making a huge scene because they were asked to pay for parking.

"Obviously, they'd spent the night there," giggled the onlooker, who noted that one of the overnight guests was screaming into the phone, "After last night, he'd better [bleep]ing take care of it!"

After a bit of insistence, "they eventually left happy. I assume he paid for their parking after all," said our snitch.

Tongues in Miami are wagging over Jeter's stint in Miami, where he was spotted Friday night dining at Nobu, then partying it up with Timbaland at Skybar. "They took over the table in the back and drank Grey Goose all night," said a fellow reveler. "Five girls were dancing around him, but he didn't seem interested."

Jeter was spotted acting equally detached later that night at Set, where he was "surrounded by throngs of women five rows deep. He was hanging with a guy friend, though, and didn't seem to take much interest in the hordes of ladies."

Evidently, the Yankee captain likes to keep his conquests behind closed doors, because there were no Jeter sightings Saturday night.

"I heard he was staying in the penthouse at the Shore Club," said one Miami source. "He checked in solo Friday, but nobody saw him Saturday night ... and everyone down here talks when big names come to town. Maybe he was holed up in his suite all night?"

Jeter is notorious for his off-field plays - he's been linked to the likes of Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jordana Brewster, Mariah Carey, Scarlett Johansson, Vanessa Minnillo and Gabrielle Union. Shore Club reps had "no comment," and a Yankee rep did not return calls.

Dice-K will be all right in the long run. He's got the talent. No one thought it would be easy for him in his first year. If Beckett can go from where he was last year to where he is this year, I think Dice can make a similar adjustment.

If the bad half of the lineup can become even half a factor we should be ok. The last two games the offense has only had a chance every other inning. And the bad half is even starting to sour the wringers with the pressure. Lets Go Bats!

One thing I just thought about is if this thing goes to Game 7, think about it... Beckett goes on Thursday, Game 7 is on Sunday. You'd have Daisuke starting on Sunday, but with the World Series starting on the following Wednesday, this would end up being an All-Hands-on-Deck game, and that would definitely include Wakefield, but it could also include the possibility of Beckett coming out for 1, 2, maybe 3 innings if the need should arise.

I don't know if Terry would do it, but I think the option of bringing Beckett out of the bullpen would be there. What do you guys think?

Hell, if he pitches Game 7 for a couple of innings, that should be on a day where he'd throw a side-session anyways in his normal routine, and therefore, he'd certainly be able to start Game 1 of the World Series.

Wow...now I'm officially scared of the Rockies. If we succeed against Cleveland, our shit better be squared away right quick otherwise the embarassments Cleveland dished out will look like charity.

I gotta say that Tito should very much move Pedroia back to #2 where he shined and put either LBJ or Youk at top billing. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

As for Wake/Dice-K, I'm still disappointed in Dicey for still not finding his groove, though Zenslinger makes a good point with the "adjustment year" bit. Wakey has my support and after reading how he usually fares against the Tribe, I'm confident he'll put some holes in those oh so subtly racist war drums they beat at Jacobs, even if they're at 75mph.

I was doing my best last night and today to embody the Boss-watching L-girl

Gee, Tim, I thought Sarah and I were channeling L-girl while you played class clown, trying to make everyone laugh (and you did a good job!). I am ready for more of your antics, though I am hoping tonight the game will also keep us laughing.

Well, I actually appreciate it when you yell at us to snap out of it! It's a good reality check. (And I do find that keeping a positive mood does make a difference in how I feel after the game, even if we lose.)

Sock said: "And would Tito be "wasting" Beckett against Byrd? That scenario would mean Beckett could pitch a Game 7 on short rest, but two short rest starts may not be the right thing to do."

Game 7 would be regular rest for Josh if he pitched tonight. That's one of the pros of him starting tonight. There's that extra day off between 4 and 5, so after tonight it would be off, 5, off, 6, 7. 4 days rest.

That said (oh!), I do agree pitching Beckett in 5 is fine, because no matter what happens tonight, tomorrow is the more important game. A win and it's "sweet, we have Beckett looking to give us a 3-2 lead going home." A loss and it's "at least we've got Josh to try to get us back home again."

Allan and I are talking about what type of ass kicking Boston will put on tonight. We've decided we don't care if names are taken. Anonymous ass kicking will be fine. Boston can kick Cleveland's asses and they can go drag their sorry racist-logo'd butts to the clubhouse and tell someone else their names.

I was wondering---do you have to filter out many posts? I noticed at Threadsox that there really weren't any trolls or obnoxious posts (though the guys did get a thrill from some Alicia Silverstone photos they found) so wondered why the need to moderate here?

Well that took care of more of our batters. Seriously, aside from Manny, Flo, and Doc (to an extent), the Sox have gotta find their chi otherwise the Rox/Indians are gonna have a gay old time on their asses.

such a brilliant piece of analysisRemember - this is also the guy who said "another problem with Wakefield pitching is they're missing the bat of Jason Varitek"Missing Tek's bat?Granted, I was thrilled about the dong last night, but I don't think we'll MISS his bat.